Engine uses lubrication oil for lubricating various moving components, such as a crankshaft, camshafts and pistons, to avoid wear and also to serve as a cooling medium by absorbing heat from such components. The lubrication oil is contained in an oil pan and supplied to the components by an oil pump during operation of the engine. One or more filters are also disposed in the oil pan to filter the lubrication oil. After a prolonged period of operation of the engine, impurities present in lubrication region and wear particles formed due to friction of mating components may be added in the lubrication oil. Excessive amount of such wear particles and the impurities may damage the components and reduce efficiency of the engine. Hence, the customer may periodically inspect the lubrication oil for assessing extent of wear particles in the oil. However, taking a volume of the lubrication oil from the engine and assessing an extent of wear particles in the oil needs more time. Also, inspection of quality of the oil is a complex process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,545 discloses an apparatus and electrical system for sensing wear within an engine by detecting the presence of metal pieces which have become dislodged from the engine. The metal pieces are detected by collecting them upon a filter which is located generally within an inductor. The permeability of the inductor is measured as a function of the inductance, and the inductance becomes a measure of the number of particles collected by the filter.